Jewellery Design Stationery

All you need to design your first piece of jewellery..

Sun Dec 18, 2022

Say Yes to Jewellery Design

Because it is here to stay forever..

If you want to become a jewellery designer and design your own jewellery collections, you need the right tools. In this blog, we have mentioned all the necessary tools and stationery that every jewellery designer must have in order to design jewellery. Simply click on the image or title of any stationery listed and you will be redirected to its Amazon India listing. For students living outside of India, you can purchase the similar item from any online or offline store as per your convenience. The brands suggested for each stationery item are our personal recommendations keeping two things in mind, quality and affordability. However, students can buy these stationery items from any brands of their choice.

Everything you need is here

A Mechanical Pencil
A fine 0.3 mechanical pencil is a must for all jewellery designers since jewellery is a small scale product where one need to draw the tiniest of details.

Pencil Eraser

Since jewellery illustrations are generally fine and small, one needs an eraser that could erase the finest of parts without erasing the rest of the illustration. Hence, a pencil eraser will be the best tool to do the said job.

Jewellery Templates
The most important thing about jewellery designing is precision. Every mm matters, even a slight change in the measurement can cause havoc during production and in the overall product pricing. Therefore, it is advised that the designer should make use of jewellery templates while drafting their jewellery sketches.

Micron Pen

Picture this, you took your time to illustrate your idea, you started rendering it and...alas! Your render is smudged with graphite. Frustrating, right? Well this wouldn't happen to you if you are to use a fine micron pen. Simply trace your drawing with a 003 or 005 micron pen, let it dry for a minute or two, erase the pencil lines and start rendering with your choice of color medium.

High-Bright A4 Paper
The texture of your paper matters! So work on a paper such as a hi-bright paper, that is smooth, bright and makes your illustrations appear neat and beautiful.

Watercolor Paper

The absorption of your watercolor paper matters! While hand-painting your jewellery illustrations, make sure to use a 300 GSM watercolor paper that is thick enough to hold multiple layers of watercolors.

Color Pencils

There is something about color pencils that all the other art mediums fail to capture. They are slow, but are capable of rendering art styles that are expressive, abstract, detailed or photorealistic. Since metal and gemstones have many reflections and colors, using a set of 48+ wax based color pencils will give you smoother and stroke free renders.

Gouache Watercolors

If you are looking for watercolors, gouache are the perfect pigment – they could be applied without showing any brush strokes, are completely opaque and extremely flat. They take time to master, but once mastered, there is no going back.

Watercolor Cakes

Find gouache watercolors intimidating? Don't worry, you can always use regular watercolors. They are a great medium to render jewellery illustrations and are easier to use as compared to other paint mediums.

Fine Paint Brushes

Just like how you need a fine mechanical pencil and fine microns to illustrate your creations, you also need fine paint brushes, especially 000, 00, 0, 1, 2 and 3, to paint the finest of details.

Art Markers

Have a lot of illustrations to render but you are short on time? Let art markers come to your rescue, they are easy and faster to use, come in 160+ colors, and have both, brush and fine tips, for all your needs.

Tracing Paper

An important part of designing is multiple iterations. It is neither practical nor feasible for one to draw the same thing again and again just for minuscule changes. Hence, it is recommended that the designer makes use of tracing sheets to make the job easier and faster.

Tracing Board

Don't want to trace on a translucent tracing paper ? Well, you can always use a tracing board to draw and trace on an opaque white paper.

Portable Easel

While illustrating and rendering your creations, it is necessary that your posture is right. Remember, good health is essential for a good career, so invest in a portable easel that would take off the strain off of your back.

Apart from these stationery items, you will also need polyester tracing film and a pair of right triangle set squares (one small and the other medium). We could not find a good amazon listing for the same and hence, we request you to source both the materials from your preferred stationery store.

If you wish to render your designs on a toned watercolor paper, you can buy 250-400 GSM watercolor sheets in the color grey, brown or beige. For students living in India, you can source your watercolor sheets from BRWN stationery.

If you are someone who prefers to design and render jewellery digitally, Procreate is the best software for jewellery designers to bring their creations to life. For the same, you need to invest in an iPad, an apple pencil, and the software Procreate, which as of now is available for a one time payment.

And with this, you have everything that you need to have to start with your jewellery design journey. Now if you wish to learn how to design jewellery like a professional, do checkout our master jewellery design course. DESCLUSIVE.

Swasti Garg
Jewellery Designer | Render Artist | Global Design Educator